One of the struggles leaders face is the pressure to “know it all”. People ask all sorts of questions, and we can find ourselves quickly out of our areas of “expertise”. Knowing how to respond to such questions—even if we are the ones asking ourselves is thought provoking.

Not knowing the answer at that immediate moment does not mean that we will never know the answer. Simply saying, “I can help you find out”, “Sister So and So knows quite a bit about that, why don’t you ask her”; “Let’s agree in prayer God will show you”, or finally the humble admission: “I don’t know” are all good answers.
Darryl and I were driving to church and I began to think about the blessing of NOT knowing it all.

Here are the results of my musings!

The Blessings of Not Knowing it All!

• You get to practice those research skills you learned in High School.
• It helps the economy: authors, publishers, lumber mills and the rest of the food chain stay employed.
• It helps librarians hone their skills.
• It gives someone else the opportunity to share their expertise.
• It adds to your prayer list.
• It helps you practice humility.
• You might learn something.
• You might learn something that will help you!
• It is a good example for your children.
• It frees other people you work with to Not to Have to Know Everything as well.
• Learning keeps your mind active—works as a deterrent to dementia!

Martha